Postcards: The Lost Art of Travel?

One of my first travel memories was seeing a postcard come through our letterbox when I was a child in Bangor, Northern Ireland. As a kid, you ignore those boring brown or white envelopes and you are intrigued by colour so the postcard that arrived in the post caught my eye.

Sovereign Military Order of Malta postcard

Writing postcards in Starogard Gdański

Postcard from the Gambia

It was either a postcard from the Netherlands or from London, but I told my Mum I wanted to keep it. For me a postcard is the ultimate travel souvenir. A postcard itself is a journey. It means little or nothing to get an e-mail with a photo on it when you compare it with the journey of a postcard. I fear it’s becoming a forgotten art, hence why I still send my family a postcard from EVERY single new place I go.

Postcard from the tour

You get a guide, a wristband, a postcard and day hire of a Geiger counter

Dont Stop Living postcard front

Sending postcards from North Korea

My brother’s postcards from Honduras including Tegucigalpa…

A postcard from Port Lockroy – the world’s southernmost post office.

The last time I visited my family I sought out my travelling postcard collection that I had sent them – mostly to my youngest brother. The collection has now amassed postcards from over 150 countries – hundreds of postcards.

Postcards: The Lost Art of Travel?

Postcards: The Lost Art of Travel?

All bought in various shops across all seven continents (yes, I bought and posted a postcard when I was in Antarctica!), then written with details about what I did there at the time, then a stamp is put on them, then I find a post office or postbox and post them. Then the completion of the journey when my family receive the postcard. What an amazing journey.

Postcards: The Lost Art of Travel?

Postcards: The Lost Art of Travel?

One of the most pleasing things for me was buying, writing and posting a postcard at Port Lockroy in Antarctica in a cold hut, where there was thankfully NO mobile phones, NO internet and certainly NO other way to send home my special travel memory!

Amazing! I posted postcards from the world’s southernmost postbox in 2010 – Port Lockroy in Antarctica!

Perhaps the younger travellers amongst us even wonder why anyone would bother sending a postcard, when you can just e-mail. Well it’s the story of the postcard that does it for me!!

Spot the difference:

1. An e-mail:

E-mail v Postcard? I logged on and typed this and sent it from a computer. I think we all know the answer to that one, at least I do!

2. A postcard:

Postcard v e-mail? I bought, wrote and posted this one in Port Lockroy in Antarctica. Thankfully there was no internet around.

Which one would you rather receive?

A colourful hand made postcard in Soweto, South Africa!

Just a bit of a thought for you next time you travel. Send a postcard!! My girlfriend has sent me a postcard from over 15 countries, that means more to me than any e-mail…I hope my postcards to her and to my family mean as much to them.

2 thoughts on “Postcards: The Lost Art of Travel?”

Thanks for the comment Kristy – Postcards are great – it’s more the sending of them I’m into, if I go to a new place I always post my youngest brother a card, he’s got over 130 of them now, from over 50 countries across every continent. Only the one from Sweden in 2007 didnt make it! Safe travels. Jonny

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Jonny Blair is a travel writer, teacher and barman. Jonny lives in Poland and is recovering from mental health problems caused by liars. Jonny still wants to travel and inspire others but be careful who you trust.Jonny was recently in Gdańsk, POLANDHe last backpacked in Kaliningrad City, KALININGRADNow Jonny Blair lives in Gdańsk, POLAND
Number of continents visited: 7
Number of countries visited: 165 (including disputed countries)
Number of cities/towns visited: 1153 NOT OUT!
Where Has Jonny Been?